Elementary Particles (PHY 290)

Contact Information

Course Description

What is matter ultimately made of at the smallest scale? What
are mesons, neutrinos, quarks, leptons, baryons, and intermediate
vector bosons? This course will explore elementary particles and
their interactions. Topics include symmetries, conservation
laws, Feynman diagrams, and quantum electrodynamics.
3 credits.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that students will

describe physical situations using the language of Feynman diagrams

describe light as a photon

interpret the behavior of elementary particles in terms of their fundamental interactions

apply special relativity and Feynman diagrams to specific physical situations

Textbook

The textbook for the course is Introduction to Elementary Particles
(second edition),
by David Griffiths,
Wiley-VCH (year), ISBN 978-3-527-40601-2.

Exams

There will be three 50-minute exams during the normal class time.
There will also be a comprehensive final exam.
No computers, cell phones, music players, or any electronic devices
with wireless or network capability are allowed during exams. You
will be allowed to use a calculator during exams.

Homework

The homework is the centerpiece of this course.
It is in doing the homework problems that you will begin to
understand elementary particle theory.
Give the homework problems the time they deserve.
I expect that many of the problems I am asking you to work
will take about one hour each. I would not ask you to do
these problems if I didn’t believe that the process was
worth your time.
You cannot succeed with this
subject if you wait until the day before the homework is due
to start. Start the homework a week before the due date by
reading the problems and seeing if you can do any of them.
Come to me with questions, or if you get stuck.

You may work together on the homework,
talking about how to solve the problems,
but you must write your homework solutions independently.
Do not copy homework solutions from the web, from
your classmates, or from a white board in which you have
worked together on a problem.
If you work together on a white board, stare at the white
board until you understand the process, then go somewhere
alone and see if you can do it yourself.

Copying another person’s homework solutions is an act of
cheating and plagiarism.
Submitting your own work for the homework will cause you
to learn elementary particle theory.
Everything that you write in your homework solutions
you should be able to explain to me if I were to ask.
This does not mean that your homework needs to be perfect,
only that it must have come from your mind.

If you can’t finish some of the problems before the
due date, turn in what you have done. It is still worth
trying to do the remaining problems, because they all have
a purpose. If you know in advance
that you will have trouble finishing the homework by the
deadline, come and talk to me.

Class Participation

A portion of your grade is determined by class participation.
Obviously, attendance is a prerequisite for participation in class.
If you attend every class, and participate by preparing summaries,
asking questions, writing problems,
answering questions, and taking your turn in doing problems
at the board, you will have a perfect score for this area.
If you need to miss a class, see me in advance and I’ll give
you an alternative assignment.

Grading

Your grade will be determined by a weighted average
as indicated in the table below.

Exams

45%

Homework

30%

Class Participation

10%

Final Exam (comprehensive)

15%

Your letter grade for the course is determined by the weighted average.
The minimum weighted average (out of 100) required for each letter grade
is indicated below.

A

93

A-

90

B+

87

B

83

B-

80

C+

77

C

73

C-

70

D+

67

D

63

D-

60

F

0

Office Hours

Please feel free to stop by my office any time to chat.
I will make a special effort to be in my office during the
office hours posted on my door (also listed on my web page).
We can also make an appointment to get together if that is
convenient for you.

Disabilities Services Syllabus Statement

If you have a physical, medical, psychological, or learning disability
that is going to impact your attendance or require accommodation,
please let me know. In order to ensure that your learning needs are
appropriately met, you will need to provide documentation of your
disability or medical condition to the Director of Disability
Services. The Office of Disability Services will then provide a
letter of verification of disability that describes the accommodations
needed for this class. This office is located in the Humanities
Building, room 04, and the Director may be reached by phone at
717-867-6071.

Academic Honesty

Any student who submits plagiarized work will be subject to the
penalties described in the Student Handbook and outlined in LVC’s
“Academic Honesty Policy”
(http://www.lvc.edu/catalog/acad-reg-procedures.aspx). This
code asks each student to do his/her own work in his/her own words.

A student shall neither hinder nor unfairly assist the efforts of
other students to complete their work. All individual work that a
student produces and submits as a course assignment must be the
student’s own. Cheating and plagiarism are acts of academic
dishonesty.

Cheating is an act that deceives or defrauds. It includes, but is not
limited to, looking at another’s exam or quiz, using unauthorized
materials during an exam or quiz, colluding on assignments without the
permission or knowledge of the instructor, and furnishing false
information for the purpose of receiving special consideration, such
as postponement of an exam, essay, quiz or deadline of an oral
presentation.

Plagiarism is the act of submitting as one’s own the work (the words,
ideas, images, or compositions) of another person or persons without
accurate attribution. Plagiarism can manifest itself in various ways:
it can arise from sloppy note-taking; it can emerge as the incomplete
or incompetent citation of resources; it can take the form of the
wholesale submission of other people’s work as one’s own, whether from
an online, oral or printed source.

Students who take part in violations such as cheating or plagiarism
are subject to a meeting with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs,
who has the authority to take further action, up to and including
expulsion from the College.

Civility, Respect, Community

LVC aims to be a community of inclusive excellence. We affirm the
rights of all persons to a superior educational experience that is
characterized by respect for and tolerance of others. This class is a
place where our core values of inclusiveness, civility, and
appreciation of difference are affirmed.